January 23, 2009

The ethical storm over abortions has been renewed as it emerged that terminations are being carried out for minor, treatable birth defects. Late terminations have been performed in recent years because the babies had club feet, official figures show . . .

Julia Millington, of the Alive and Kicking Campaign, said: ‘It is all about our perceptions of perfection. Increasingly things are moving along the lines where nothing is good enough. it seems we can no longer tolerate any imperfection. Babies are at the mercy of ultrasound scans and what they may disclose. . . (read article)

Alright. I'll be the first to say that this strange story is about as strange as strange can get. But it is significant insofar as modern biomedical technology is very close to, if not already at, the point of actually doing what these researchers are proposing: using extant DNA latent in the blood of long-deceased persons (in this case, from nothing other than the Shroud of Turin), in an attempt to produce a human clone.

Bizarre? Yes. But, sadly, it's more than a mere theoretical curiosity to those involved in this project. Read what the Russian newspaper Pravda (Правда — which, ironically, means “the truth”) said a couple of years ago about this venture:

Researchers say they would like to clone Christ. But with this good intention they on the contrary may get an antichrist. Famous chemist Alan Adler who studied samples of the Shroud of Turin, the legendary burial cloth into which Jesus Christ was wrapped after crucifixion, made a sensational statement not long ago.

The researcher said there was blood on the Shroud and it was shed by a man who died a violent death.

The University of Texas Center for Advanced DNA Technologies, USA, analyzed the DNA of the bloodstains. Head of the Center Victor Tryon confirmed that was human genetic material. It was divided into several samples and sent to different laboratories for further analysis.

No results of the research have been published yet but there are certainly some. Dr. Leoncio A. Garza-Valdes, one of the few researchers allowed to touch the Shroud of Turin is working on his book that will have a shocking name, The DNA of God.

The very abbreviation DNA seemed to be rather common for majority of people a couple of years ago. But today it is a serious cause for anxiety. Indeed, DNA gives researchers an opportunity to produce clones, a copy of any creature whose DNA is available for experiments. Experiments of this type have been already made public: Dolly the sheep became an absolute cloned copy of a sheep whose genetic material, DNA, was available.

Soon, it became clear that cloning humans was also possible. Professor Richard Seed declared he would solve the human cloning problem by the end of the millennium. He said he was seeking a fitting candidate for cloning. Finally, researchers supposed that blood found on the shroud of Turin might be used as genetic material for cloning . . . (continue reading)

A couple of years ago, I was asked to appear on a secular talk-radio show to discuss the issue of homosexuals in the priesthood with now-retired Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, a perennial fixture within the “progressive” fringe of dissenting Catholics. He argued the case that homosexuals in the priesthood is no problem at all. I, as you might guess, said exactly the opposite. It was a brief discussion, only about 20 minutes (including a commercial break), but long enough to see two very different approaches to this important issue. What are your thoughts?

“It is said that in the 10th century, the 12th and last Imam of the Shiite branch of Islam disappeared. He is said to be hidden by God and will reappear at the end of history to lead an era of Islamic justice. Actions by, and rumors about, Iran's president have renewed interest in the 12th Imam.” (Additional info)